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Camp
Photos
Camp Wolverton History Part 2
Sixty Years of Real Scouting in Sequoia National Park
(1939 through 1999)
by
Frank L. Glick
Camp Wolverton with the Boy Scouts
The exact origins of Wolverton as a Boy Scout Camp are a little foggy. "Lost in antiquity," as Indiana Jones might say. Alden Barber a professional scouter from the Crescent Bay Area Council who later went on to become the National Chief Scout Executive, believes that the National Park administration had designated the Wolverton area for all Scout troops visiting the Park to use. Gradually, the area became a Boy Scout Camp.
1939-1945 (Beginnings and World War II)
It is believed that the Wolverton area was first used as a Scout Camp in 1939. Who ran the camp and how it was used is unclear.
In the summer of 1941, Crescent Bay Area Council scout executive "Uncle" Bob Hill assigned Alden Barber to run the camp. It was a unique arrangement because the Park Service was still involved. The Scouts provided the use of the rustic cabin where food could be stored out of a bear's reach. Troops provided their own food and cooking supplies. Hot showers were available if you brought the firewood to heat the water tank. For the most part, Wolverton was a jumping-off place for one day hikes to back country lakes, or for 10 day treks to Mount Whitney and beyond.
Alden Barber was the camp director before and after he served with the Army Air Corps during World War II. Working closely with Alden were John Ehrlichman, Jack Davies, and Martin Michael.
John Ehrlichman went on to greater fame in the 1970s as a member of Richard Nixon's "kitchen cabinet." John was involved in the Watergate Hotel break-in cover-up that eventually led to his incarceration and Nixon's resignation as president. Getting out of jail, he wrote three mystery novels. Ehrlichman died in 1999. His Tamet Lodge Brotherhood plaque can been seen to the right of the big fireplace at Camp Josepho.
Ehrlichman really helped Alden develop Wolverton, and Jack accompanied Alden on one of the first Camp Wolverton trans-Sierran hikes. Barber, Ehrlichman, Davies, and Michael were responsible (along with others) for the development and growth of both Camp Josepho and Camp Wolverton.
In those days it was important to take care that nobody felt one camp was being deserted in favor of another. Rivalary between Wolverton and Emerald Bay on Catalina Island may have been intense during your own summer camp days, but it must have been even worse in the 1940s.
In 1942, when Camp Josepho was in its heyday, Alden created a severe firestorm when he asked to be allowed to lead a group of Explorers on a 10-day hike from Wolverton to Mt. Whitney. His friends and colleagues accused him of sabotaging the summer camp program at Josepho. Alden calmed them down and the pack trip was held with 18 older Scouts who needed more challenges than the traditional summer camp at Josepho. That trip was the beginning of the "High Adventure" concept, later adopted nationally by the BSA.
An early tradition at Camp Wolverton was singing around the campfire. Martin Michael, an Eagle Scout who loved music, wrote the first songs for Camp Wolverton (and Camp Josepho too). He was an accomplished pianist and a successful business man in the advertising and public relations field. He was the founder of the KFI radio show every week that would highlight outstanding Scout troops for one half hour. More information on the KFI show and hiking trips is presented later in this book.
1946-1975 (Full Program Summer Camp)
As soon as Alden Barber and John Ehrlichman returned from service with
the Army Air Corps, Alden proposed a "shuttle service" for pack trips between
Wolverton, on the west side of the Sierra, and Lone Pine, on the east side. Each trip
included a Mt. Whitney climb. John agreed to the proposal and they made four trips in
1946.
For each trip, Alden brought a truck load of Scouts to Wolverton, rented a mule and a horse (in case of injury or illness), and hit the High Sierra Trail for Mt. Whitney and Lone Pine. Meanwhile, John led a group in the opposite direction. The exchange of questions and answers as the two groups met half-way was something to witness. The trips were successful, in spite of near lightning strikes, altitude sickness, and a severe case of pink eye. In 1947, the "shuttle service" ended as the full program in camp was enhanced.
The first year that Wolverton had a patch was in 1946. Actually they were called badges in those days. The badge said "Camp Wolverton." Prior to this year, the patches had referred to the camp as Sequoia.
John Squires, who now lives in Sacramento and works for the California Department of Water Resources, attended summer camp at Wolverton in 1958. He was thirteen years old at the time. He was a First Class Scout in the Eagle Patrol, and the bugler in Troop 850 from Manhattan Beach, California. The trip was led by the Scoutmaster, Mr. Conn. Transportation to (and from) the camp was in a charted bus.
After arriving at Wolverton, one of the first tasks was setting up his campsite. John remembers looking for a flat spot for his floorless, A-framed pup tent, but all the good spots were taken by the older boys. Late in the first night, a tent set up in one of the "good spots" he didn't get was ransacked by a bear.
For the next couple of days, John and his Troop spent most of their time exploring the wonders of the Park, such as hiking to the Sherman Tree and to Tharp's Log. There was also swimming and fishing in Wolverton pond (it didn't really silt in until a major summer thunderstorm in the mid or late 1960s.)
Meals were prepared by a camp cook and all the troops in camp, as well as the staff and camp guests, ate together in the outdoor dinning area. Great campfires were held in the evenings. An Order of the Arrow tap-out and Ordeal was held that week.
In the middle of the week, a staffman led the Troop up to a backcountry lake. John says that a burro carried the food and cooking gear, but he had to carry his own sleeping bag and personal equipment. Burros continued carrying the group gear until 1971 when either expense or burro availability made it impossible.
Back at Wolverton after being in the backcountry, hot showers were had by all. A camp rodeo full of games and events highlighted the end of the week. John earned and still has the "1958 GOOD CAMPER" segment to go under the camp patch. About 40 years later, at the time John was interviewed by his co-worker Frank Glick, the fun memories of Camp Wolverton brought many smiles to his face.
As a member of the Council Executive staff, Stan Morse had a relationship with Wolverton for seventeen years, from 1952 to 1970. Some years it involved hiring staff, ordering food and supplies, and living in camp as staff advisor. Other times it was promoting the camp to the troops and posts in the council district he served.
Stan recalls that in 1953, "I was staff advisor including picking camp staff. In 1954 I was again involved in staff selection and preparing for camp but at the last moment I was sent over to Emerald Bay for eight weeks as camp director. In later years I again spent time in camp preparation and operation."
Stan's influence on Camp was important. As Art Brice remembers, "In 1964, Camp Director Stan Morse began a real push to have Camp Wolverton rated an "A" Camp by National. Although Emerald Bay always got an "A" Wolverton never got above a "B" largely because no formal waterfront program existed at the high-altitude lakes where the campers swam." And though the Park maps showed a Wolverton "Pond," it was a body of water in name only.
Stan made all the physical and administrative changes he could to up the rating. Anyone who recalls the 50-gallon water drums that provided hand washing, as well as employment for staff, near the heads are aquainted with Stan's efforts. But the lack of an aquatic program still was too much to overcome.
Art Brice says that Stan finally came up with a solution. "He simply created a portable waterfront program. We loaded floats, signage and life rings on the backs of burros and set off into the backcountry!" Camp got its "A" rating. "No inspector was going to hike 10 miles to see our program," says Art. "They took our word for our dedication to the program." After all, a scout is trustworthy. "I think the sight of a white life ring dangling over the rump of a burro headed up the trail really impressed them."
At the end of 1972, the Crescent Bay Area Council merged with the San Fernando Valley Council. This affected Camp Wolverton, beginning with the summer of 1973, because San Fernando brought their Camp Whitsett with the merger.
Camp Whitsett is a nice summer camp in the Southern Sierra. Unfortunately for Wolverton, Camp Whitsett had more facilities, was about two hours closer to Los Angeles, and had pine trees surrounding a swimming lake too.
Many troops which previously went to Wolverton one year and Emerald Bay one year, now began choosing Whitsett instead of Wolverton. Also, those troops from San Fernando which previously went to Whitsett continued to go to Whitsett, not Wolverton. As a result, attendance began to drop at Wolverton. 1975 was the 30th and last summer the new Council (Great Western at the time, now Western Los Angeles County Council) offered a full program at Camp Wolverton. That summer consisted of only two regular sessions. The staff, however, was there for two months!
1976-1988 (Outpost Camp)
The summer of 1976 marked a new look for Camp Wolverton. The camp was no longer a full
program summer camp, but instead, it was converted to an "outpost camp".
1989-1999 (The Camp Since its 50th Summer)
After Camp Wolverton's 50th summer (in 1988), or its 50th anniversary in 1989,
same thing, it has continued to survive as an outpost camp.
Winter Use
The camp has never been officially used in the winter. This is because of the great snow fall which occurs. In extremely hard winters, the camp lodge building has been buried in snow. In the winter of 1968-69, the old shower house collapsed due to the weight of the snow.
At the end of each summer, significant precautions are taken to reduce the damage predicted for the upcoming winter.
Over the years, some of the staff have unofficially used the camp for brief winter trips. Reportedly, some of the best new years have begun in the dark, snowy winter at Wolverton.
The Wolverton Sequoia Tree
A fairly large Sequoia tree exists in the center of camp near the old parade ground.
Nobody is sure who planted it or when. In the early 1960s, it was only six feet tall.
Perhaps it was transplanted as a seedling in the late 1950's. At the time of this writing,
it is very healthy and about 80 feet tall. It was named the "Wolverton Tree" by
Scott Robbins in the early 1980s.
In the mid 1980's, five additional sequoia seedlings were purchased from the Giant Forest gift shop and planted around the main camp area by Mike Smith, Lisa Bishop-Smith and Art Marquez. An inspection of the camp in July 1999 revealed that only two of the five are remaining; they are healthy and about three feet tall now.
Latrines
Camp Wolverton has always had pit toilets, sometimes called "kybo's;" but no flushies. Some of the latrines were single seaters for privacy, and some were double seaters for good conversation, such as the one on Staff Hill. Some had roofs to keep the rain and snow out, but many people preferred the ones without roofs; they let in all the sunshine.
It was a good thing the kybo below the Lodge didn't have a roof in 1972. Just ask Doug Soloman. About five minutes after Doug entered the kybo, a big black bear entered it too. Doug's choice of escape was limited to up or down. Because there was no roof, he chose up. With his scout shorts still around his boots, he popped out of that kybo like a jack in the box.
The camp prides itself with having the sweetest kybo's west of the Mississippi. They have always been kept clean, sanitized, and well-stocked with tickets. A little trick to prevent the kybo from smelling has always been to keep a bucket of ashes (charcoal) in each kybo; just pour a spoonful into the pit after each use. Rich Stowell started this tradition during the late 1970s. He says he remembered reading about it in a novel and it seemed like a good idea.
Hikes from Wolverton
Backpacking from Camp Wolverton has always been a favorite. Probably the most respected hike is the Wolverton to Whitney trip. Some of the more popular hikes during the last 25 years have been the Silver Bearpaw, Silver Cloud, and Wolverton to Whitsett.
The Silver Bearpaw (61 miles) and Silver Cloud (45.5 miles) are "High Adventure Backpacking Award" trips which begin and end from Camp Wolverton. Figure __ shows these two hikes. The staff of Wolverton frequently hiked the Silver Bearpaw at the beginning of each summer to get in shape and reacquaint themselves with the backcountry.
Also, there was the KFI (Los Angeles) radio station High Sierra hikes. Some people have suggested that these hikes had something to do with Wolverton. Unfortunately, they did not. A review of all of the KFI trip records show that the KFI groups never stayed at Camp Wolverton.
Polaris Training
Polaris Training was a 1960s to 1970s Scout leadership
training program developed for the Crescent Bay Area Council. The first part of the
program was called Polaris One Star. It was a weekend-long training held at Camp Josepho
in the Santa Monica Mountains. If a Scout passed this part of the program, he could attend
Polaris Two Star training [in 1967 at a cost of about $50 for the week - at the same time
a week of regular camp ran about $35] for a week in the summer at Camp Wolverton. Between
the Scouts attending the program and the program's own staff, there could be up to 200
people in Camp. Scouts would stay in Bear Haven, The Meadows, and Deer Hollow [in the area
west of the Lodge].
Next, the Scouts who completed Polaris Two Star could become junior staff at the next year's One Star. They could also attend another one-week course called Polaris Three Star which was not held at Wolverton. Then, those Scouts could return to Wolverton the following summer to be on the junior staff of Two Star. And so it went.
Dan'l Silpa has a story from his days as assistant cook when the Polaris crew was in camp. "One year, we could not afford to keep the professional chef for the week of Polaris training. Thus, after a few weeks as assistant cook, it fell to me to be the chef.
"Polaris had their own time schedule. One night, their schedule planned dinner to be at 4:30 p.m. instead of the usual 6:00 or 6:30. Everybody knew about this schedule...except me.
"It was barbecue chicken night. I was cooking for about 120 people.
"Well, the chicken wasn’t quite cooked enough! Only one leader brought his meal back to me to exchange for a more well-done piece. Nobody was reported to come down ill the next day!
"Today I know all about Salmonella gastroenteritis. If divine providence and blind luck were not looking after the Camp and me that night, I might have killed off a few scouts and swamped the Central California hospitals with a hundred cases of food poisoning! "
Special People
Paul Weiss was a special man and one-of-a-kind. He helped build Camp Wolverton during his many trips to Sequoia, while serving as the Ranger at Camp Josepho in the Santa Monica Mountains. He smoked cigars and spoke loudly.
For those of you who didn't know Paul, a short story here will help you understand his influence. Mike Robbins fondly recalls his first memorable encounter with Paul at Wolverton on Labor Day weekend, 1961.
Mike had helped out with the Junior Leader Training program and was driving the camp truck to the guest area to pick up the tents. Not wishing to drag the tents up the hill to the truck by hand, Mike decided to drive the truck down the hillside to the tents.
As he drove, the truck wheels got deeper and deeper into the duff while the truck began to slide sideways. Mike wound up straddling a rock between two trees. But he wasn't worried about the truck, he was worried (much too mild a word) about what Paul would do when he saw the truck. And about that time, Paul appeared at the top of the hill, took in the situation, and burst into one of his wonderful laughs.
Mike says it took a lot pipe-threading and woodworking to gain Paul's respect after that move.
Art Brice remembers how special Paul Weiss was to us all. "At the close of work week in 1963 or so, someone bought a box a cheap cigars. They were passed out in the staff lounge and everyone lit up, more or less, and waited for Paul. He entered and everyone jumped up, cigar clenched between our teeth as best we could, pushed out our bellies and stuck our thumbs in our low-riding pants ala Paul. He was far too pleased at the tribute to reprimand us and stood there, cigar-in-teeth and thumbs-in-pants, laughing. It was a wonderful moment."
We probably all remember being afraid of Paul. Being told that "his bark is [usually] worse than his bite" never helped. Especially for the younger staff. But nobody loved Camp Wolverton as much as Paul as Art Brice demonstrates in this remembrance. "The essential Paul Wiess is Paul making us sing the Wolverton Hymn at a work week campfire until we got it right, and sounded like we meant it."
Sadly, Paul passed away at the age of 84 in February, 1990. However, much of his knowledge of Wolverton was not lost. Mike Robbins and Rich Stowell spent an evening talking with Paul and made a tape recording of it. Much of this history book is based on Paul's memories of the camp.
One of the most influential people to work at Camp was Mike Robbins. As Stan Morse remembers, "He came to camp as leader of a Beverly Hills Troop. Little did we know the impact Mike would have on the future of Camp Wolverton. He was not only full of enthusiasm and energy but a smooth operator. When Park officials would complain or want us to do things we didn't think were necessary, Mike stepped in. He had these same people eager to help us. Mike was a great ambassador of good will and a mover and shaker.
"It was through Mike's effort that the spirit and comradely of the staff grew and continues to this day. When I look at the present staff roster I see so many names of men I knew and worked with over the years, and how great it is that this gang still keeps together in a common cause."
It looked like the summer of 1971 at Wolverton was going to be without a camp director when Mike Robbins stepped in to take the job. Though he was only recently married to Louise, Mike decided to come up for one more summer. Of course, Louise came with him. She was a big hit with the staff that summer and probably one of the most popular and respected people who ever worked at Camp. It was easy to see that Louise enjoyed Wolverton as much as anyone else and that love must have been transferred in utero to the Robbins children, Scott and Andrew.
Staff Hannuka and Christmas Parties
Rich Stowell
Staff Work Parties/Family Encampments
A new tradition was born in the summer of 1987. It started with a simple notice from Mike
Robbins and Rich Stowell that read:
"A new water main and an underground electrical conduit were installed on the camp side of the Wolverton Road during this past summer. A connection to the water main has been provided at the point where the camp road joins the Wolverton Road. We are planning to install 200 feet of pipe to connect the existing camp water system to the new water main. We need your help. Please set aside the weekend of June 13-14, 1987, for work and fun in the High Sierra."
Nearly 75 people (past staff members, their families, and their friends) showed up to work, have fun, and reminisce about old times. The weekend was so successful in getting the waterline installed and the camp set up, and everybody had such a good time, that there has been a similar weekend in June ever since. Other work projects that have been accomplished on these weekends over the years include digging new latrine holes and building new latrines, painting the lodge, setting up tents, various plumbing repairs, and re-supporting the lodge.
These weekends, thirteen of them so far, have kept the spirit of Wolverton alive. The original camp staff are essentially 45 years and older, but their children [photo] and grandchildren are learning to love and care for the camp too. The second and third generations will take over when the first generation is gone.
Campmaster Program
A campmaster program was initiated in the summer of 1987. It helped relieve the work and
responsibility of the camp from Rich and Margaret Stowell, and Mike Robbins, who had been
the primary operators of the camp since it became an outpost in 1976. (Margaret Stowell
passed away in 1992 from cancer.)
This program allowed former staff and their families to run and maintain the camp for a week during the summer. Knowledgeable staff were more than willing to volunteer their time for this program. All of the staff on the camp master program have over 25 years of experience with Wolverton and can handle almost any situation.
Camp masters and their families who have repeatedly served at Wolverton since 1987 include: Rich Stowell, Mike Robbins, Art Marquez, John Taylor, Frank Glick, Brian Solow, Peter Stekel, Tom Sandbakken, John Daniels, Art Brice, Mike Smith, Gerald Alcantar, Lou Pluzolas, Dave Hill, and Patrick Lynch.
Art Brice was working as Campmaster one summer when he saw an apparition from his past. " In 1997 on a warm afternoon I was sitting at the campfire circle, lazily outmaneuvering the moving sun with a chair and a book. As I moved for the twelfth time, I looked up the road and saw a memory walking down towards me.
"He was too thin, his brown hair organized in no discernable manner and he walked in a way I can’t describe, but remembered well. He held out his hand and said unnecessarily "I’m Don Williams’ son, is Art around?" I identified myself and he said, "My Dad said you would take care of me."
"This message, from someone I had not seen in all these years. It just happened to be my week, but Don knew that no matter whose week it was, any one of us would take care of his boy. That sense of camaraderie, of faith even, is what Wolverton has always been about. It is God’s country preserved, but it always been the people that made it what it is."